to be made head-quarters, whilst researches are carried on in its neighbourhood; and not an unimportant part of these agrémens, is the certainty of finding good quarters at the Albergo d'Italia, the chief inn at Varallo, after the wanderings of a day or two in the mountains and valleys in its vicinity. ROUTE 102. BAVENO (Route 59.) TO VARALLO BY THE LAKE OF ORTA AND THE COL To those who would make an excursion to Varallo, from Baveno and the Lago Maggiore, a more beautiful route than that by Borgomanero and the Val Sesia offers itself. Immediately above Baveno rises the mountain ridge of Monte Monterone, which divides the Lago Maggiore from the Lago d'Orta, and a mule path leads across it to the town of Orta. The view of the Italian lakes, with the vast extent of the plains, and the glorious boundary of the Alps, apparently in close proximity, presented in this short transit, is scarcely, if at all surpassed by any view among the Alps: travellers ought on no account to omit to climb to its summit. On the ascent, the Lago Maggiore in all its length lies spread out, from Baveno to Magadino, and the view in this direction is bounded only by the Lepontian and Rhetian Alps. Towards the little lakes around Varese, and to the plains of Lombardy, the view is boundless. After crossing the ridge, the Alps, and Monte Rosa in all her magnificence, burst upon the observer; and beneath him lies, in the repose of its deep locality, the beautiful Lake of Orta, offering a thousand picturesque sites, yet scarcely known to the traveller, though it is within 2 hours of the route of the Simplon, a course followed by crowds of pleasure-loving ramblers, who seek their highest en 251 joyment in scenes like these, yet pass unwittingly the loveliest. Those who do not choose to go by the Monte Monterone to Orta, may visit it in a char by an excellent road; that, at Gravellona, a short distance from Baveno, turns up the valley of Strona, traversed by the Negolia, the river that carries off the waters of the Lake of Orta, issuing from it at Omegna. The Negolia, after its confluence with the Strona, rushes across the route of the Simplon, and falls into the Toccia, near Cossegno. The route from Baveno to Orta by the mountain is the shortest, but it oc cupies more time than the drive, which may be made by Omegna in 3 hours. At Omegna a boat may be taken to go to Orta, a town delightfully situated on the borders of the lake, where there is a good inn, the Albergo de St. Julio. The facilities for shooting, and for fishing on the lake, in the neighbouring mountains and forests, offer most agreeable inducements for a short summer residence in this cool and delicious retirement. Yet this spot, so delightful, is scarcely known; the traveller into Italy gallops along the shores of the Lago Maggiore, unconscious that a day or two, devoted to visiting the Lake of Orta, and Varallo, would be remembered as the pleasantest he had ever spent. If, however, the Albergo St. Julio be made head-quarters, it will be necessary for the traveller to make his bargain with the innkeeper before hand, as a security against exorbitance. The Leone d'Oro is a good and clean inn on the lake, but dear. Besides the rambles amidst the beautiful scenes around the lake, the bathing, boating, and fishing on it, Orta possesses the additional recommendations, as a place of short sojourn, of being within one day's ride or drive of Milan, Turin, Como, Bellinzona, Varallo, Monte-Rosa, by the Val Sesia, or the Val Anzasca, and the summit of the Simplon. It was at one time contemplated, to continue the great route of the Simplon along the shores of the lake of Orta; this was the plan of General Chasseloup, but the difference of level between the lakes Maggiore and Orta, the latter being considerably higher, induced the adoption of the present line. Such a road is in progress of construction by the Sardinian government, as a decoy from the Simplonroute, to Turin; and numerous travellers will doubtless avail themselves of it, for the sake of the beautiful scenes they may enjoy in skirting the mountains of Piedmont in its course. It is completed (1840), except from Orta to Omegna, and it is by no means a difficult journey to make even now. A good road leads to Omegna, where a boat may be taken for Buccione at the upper end of the lake, 9 miles distant, where the inn is tolerable, and a char may be obtained to continue the journey to Borgomanero. To go this way from Baveno to Omegna, to visit Orta, the Isola Giulio, and other objects and places on the lake, would not occupy more than 7 or 8 hours; and from Borgomanero to Turin, is only a long day's drive. The Inn at Omegna is very bad. The Isola di San Giulio is an object of singular beauty in the lake; it lies between Orta and Pella. The church and town of San Giulio surmount a rock that rises out of the deep lake; the bright buildings on it, contrast with the blue waters with a fairy-like effect. The church has high antiquity; it was built on a spot rendered sacred by the retreat of San Giulio, in the 4th century; here his ashes are preserved in a subterranean vault; and the vertebra of a monstrous serpent, said to have been destroyed by the saint, is shown as a relic; how this relic of a whale was brought to such a retired spot it is difficult to conjecture, but it serves for the tradition. The church is rich in the materials of its structure; some columns of porphyry, a mosaic pavement, and bas-reliefs. There are vestiges on the island of ancient fortifications, used when Guilla, the wife of Berenger, the second king of Lombardy, took refuge here in 962, and defended it resolutely against Otho the First, emperor of Germany, who had invaded Italy, and deposed her husband. Otho restored the island to the {bishops of Novara, who had long held it before it was seized by Berenger. The island gave a title to a dukedom as early as 590, when Minulfo, duke of San Giulio, held it; he favoured the descent of the Franks by the Saint Gothard, for which treachery he lost his head, by order of Astolpho, king of the Lombards. Behind the town of Orta a hill rises on which there is a sanctuary, dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi : over it are distributed 22 chapels or oratories, like those of Varallo. Some are elegant in their architecture; and they contain, as at Varallo, groups in terra-cotta. The hill is laid out like a beautiful garden, a character which peculiarly belongs to the mountain slopes which surround this lake, and whence probably its name is derived. The views from the hill of the sanctuary are of singular beauty, comprising the lake, the proximate mountains covered with wood, villages which speckle the shores of the lake and the sides of the hills and the whole surmounted by the Alps. A At Pella, the village on the shore near to the Isola Giulio, mules may be had for crossing the mountain of Colma to Varallo; and the ride is one of great interest, from the beautiful sites and views which it offers. steep path leads up the mountain side to Arola, amidst the richest vegetation; vines, figs, gourds, and fruit trees, make the course a vast garden. Magnificent forest trees offer their shade, and the road in some places passes amidst precipices of granite in a state of decomposition, which offers an interesting study to the geologist; here, many of the specimens sold at Baveno are obtained. Above these granitic masses, the path continues through scenes resembling the most beautiful park scenery of England, and then opens upon the Col de Colma, a common, where a boundless scene is presented of the lakes of Orta, Varese, and the plains of Lombardy, and, towards the Alps, of Monte Rosa. The descent on the other side, towards the Val Duggia, is not less beautiful. The Val Sesia is seen in the deep distance, richly wooded and studded with churches and villages; the path leads down through pastoral scenes, which sometimes recall the most agreeable recollections of home to an English traveller; then changes almost suddenly to the deep gloom of a ravine, where there are quarries, formerly worked for the buildings of Varallo, buried in a forest of enormous walnut and chestnut trees. Issuing from this wild spot, the traveller shortly finds himself in the Val Sesia at Rocco, about four miles from Varallo. page 248. See Another mountain path leads from Gozzano, 2 m. to the S. of the Lago d'Orta, to Borgo Sesia, through the village of Val Duggia, the birth place, of Gaudenzio Ferrari, a pupil of Raphael. ROUTE 103. ROMAGNANO (Route 101.) TO TURIN. The road usually taken is that which leads by the course of the Sesia to Vercelli; but this is flat and uninteresting, and descends to the riziéres, or rice grounds of Piedmont. A more pleasant route, especially since the completion of a new road to Biella, is one which crosses the Sesia and passes through the Canavais, a district celebrated for the quantity of hemp which it produces, and from which it derives its name. 253 In the season it is singular to see the whole population engaged in stripping and otherwise preparing hemp; whether walking or sitting, alone, or in groups in the streets before their houses, all are thus occupied. After crossing the Sesia, the traveller passes through Gattinara, a town where there are two good inns, the Albergo del Falcone, and the Angelo. It is a great recommendation to excursions in Piedmont, that tolerable inns are to be found in most of the little towns, and in many, especially in a line of intercourse, they are really excellent. Some of the Italian antiquaries, and among them Denina, assert that the great battle of Marius and Catullus against the Cimbri was fought in the neighbourhood of Gattinara. From Gattinara to Biella the route lies through Masarana and Cossata, and offers many beautiful views of the plains and the mountains as the road rises or falls over the undulating ground, which skirts the bases of the mountains as they subside into the plains of Piedmont. Biella, situated on the Cervo, one of the affluents of the Sesia, is 22 miles from Varallo, and about 12 from Romagnano. It contains a population of about 8000. It has some trifling manufactories of paper, common woollen goods, and hats. Its sanctuary of Notre dame d'Oropa is, however, an object of attraction, which brings crowds of visitors to offer their devotions to an image, one of the thousand black specimens of bad carving, which, under the name of Our Lady, is worshipped for its miracle-working powers: that of Oropa is said to have been carved by Saint Luke, who is made a sculptor as well as a painter, and is stated to have been brought by a St. Eusebius from Syria, and [reserved by him in the then wild and desert mountain of Oropa, near Biella. The sanctuary of Mont Oropa is 254 Route 103. Monte Oropa. 6 miles distant, and the access to it, high up in the mountain, was formerly difficult; but the road now, though steep, is practicable for light carriages. Those, however, who hope for health from the miraculous power of the Image, must walk up. A series of steep tourniquets leads to the church dedicated to the Virgin, which is a fine structure of the 14th and 15th centuries. Painting and sculpture have adorned and enriched it; and among the artists employed are found the names of Gaudenzio Ferrari and Luino. At the angles, in the zigzag ascent to the church, there are erected chapels, dedicated to the Virgin, and named after some event in her life, as, the Chapel or Oratory of the Annunciation - of the Purification of the Assumption, &c. A few are dedicated to saints in the Romish calendar; and the whole number of these chapels exceeds 24. One benefit to the traveller who may choose to wander by Biella, a little out of the high course from Varallo to Turin, arises from this miserable superstition, for it has caused the establishment of good inns necessary for the accommodation of the numerous pilgrims who visit it; and he will have no reason to complain of a want of comfort at Biella; and, if required by the traveller or the pilgrim, accommodation may even be had at the Convent of Mont Oropa. There is a communication by diligence, three times a week, between Biella and Turin, distant 33 miles. From Biella to Turin there are two roads, one by Saluzzola, Cigliano, and Chivasse, the other by Ivrea; the distance is nearly equal; but by the former the traveller descends at once to the plains; by Ivrea, a more picturesque road leads across valleys and open commons, by Mongrando, and over the Monte Bolengo, famous for the vineyards on its slopes, and passing by the village of Zubiena, beautifully situated, and where a little 104. Varallo to Châtillon. inn offers its limited accommodations. The views presented from the heights, of the plains and valleys spread out below the traveller on the left, and of the richly wooded mountain slopes, the lowest buttresses of the Alps towards the side of Piedmont, on the right, well recompense the traveller for the worse road, and lead him to Ivrea, at the entrance of the cele brated valley of Aosta, about 20 Piedmontese miles from Turin. See page 274.) ROUTE 104. VARALLO (Route 101.) TO CHATILLON IN THE VAL D'AOSTA, BY THE PASSES OF THE COL DE VAL DOBBIA, THE COL DE RANZOLA, AND THE COL DE JON, CROSSING THE VAL DE LYS AND THE VAL CHALLANT. From Varallo, the ascent of the Val Sesia can only be made on mules: nothing on wheels can advance higher than Balmuccia, 5 miles above Varallo. The Val Sesia offers scenes of less rugged grandeur than some of its lateral valleys; but in its course many of great beauty are passed, chiefly rendered so by the fine wooding of the slopes, the grand forms of the trees, and the sometimes tranquil, often furious course of the Sesia. Before arriving at Scopello, the villages of Balmuccia and Rua are passed, and the wild valley of Sermento opens on the right. At Scopello there are many smelting houses, where the copper ore, already washed and crushed, is reduced. About 50 tons are raised annually at Alagna, at the head of the Val Sesia, 4 leagues above Scopello. There is not much variation in the scenery, though the whole is pleasing. The route passes by the villages of Campertongo and Mollis, to Riva, the chief of the high villages in the valley. The Inn is improved, and offers abundance of good fare; but the landlords, here and at Alagna, are extortioners. Within the district known as the Val Sesia there are reckoned two bourgs and thirty villages, evidence of a thickly-populated country in the valleys of the Alps. Riva is situated at the confluence of the torrents of the Dobbia and the Sesia, and about half a league below the village of Alagna, where the mines of copper are wrought. From Alagna, a pass by the Mont Turloz leads in six hours from the Val Sesia to Pesterana in the Val Anzasca. (See p. 257.) The church of Riva will surprise the traveller by its structure, its excessive decoration, and the real talent with which it is painted within and without, chiefly by one of the numerous painters whom the Val Sesia has produced Tanzio, or Antonio d'Enrico, a native of Alagna. The external paintings have a remarkable freshness, though they have existed more than 200 years, exposed to the weather in this high valley. The view of Monte Rosa from Riva is very sublime; its enormous masses, clothed in glaciers, close the head of the Val de Lys, and offer a scene of extraordinary grandeur. The course into the Val de Lys from Riva is up the narrow ravine of the Dobbia, by a wretched and difficult path, in some places overhanging the torrent, in others disputing with the river the narrow course through which both must struggle. After passing the miserable hamlet of Grato, near to which there is a fine waterfall gushing out of the black ravine, the abrupt ascent to the Col de Val Dobbia rises through a pine forest, and thence over Alpine pasturages by a long and fatiguing path, which offers no object of particular interest to the traveller. The distance from Riva to the Col, which is 8200 feet above the level of the sea, requires 5 hours. On the summit there is a humble hospice a stone hovel for the shelter of travellers who may be unfortunate enough to require it; it existed in Saussure's time: it consists of two apartments, a chapel and a place of refuge within. It was built at the joint expense of the commune of Riva and of an individual of Gressoney, named Luscos. Steep slopes of snow lie near the summit unmelted throughout the year. The Monte Rosa is concealed for some time from the traveller, but in the course of his descent the deep valley of the Lys, and the sublime masses of Monte Rosa, offer views rivalling any in the great chain. From the summit to Gressoney requires from 2 to 3 hours. At this retired village the traveller will be agreeably. surprised on arriving at an excellent inn, kept by the family Luscos; where a harpsichord, German music, a tole rable library of Latin, German, and some French authors, portraits of Joseph II. and Maria Theresa, and a formidable array of many generations of the Luscoses' half-length ancestors, in "curled white wigs," hung around to recal their virtues to the memory of their descendants-is an unexpected finding in a village so retired that it almost touches the glaciers of Monte Rosa. It is a singular fact, that in all the communes at the heads of the Piedmontese valleys of Monte Rosa, the German language is spoken: at Riva and Alagna in the Val Sesia, above Pesterana in the Val Anzasca, and at St. Giacomo in the Val Challant. The manners of these communities is as distinct as their language from that of their neighbours lower down the valleys, with whom they hold little intercourse: they encourage a pride of birth and birthplace, which strongly keeps up the separation. At Gressoney, in the Val de Lys, this is perhaps more strongly exemplified than in any other of the valleys. Here their characters are distinguished for honesty and industry, and few communities have a higher moral tone. Crime is almost unknown among |